Shakespeare’s Borrowed Feathers

A fascinating book exploring the early modern authors who helped to shape Shakespeare's beloved plays.

Shakespeare's plays have influenced generations of writers, but who were the early modern playwrights who influenced him? Using the latest techniques in textual analysis Shakespeare's borrowed feathers offers a fresh look at William Shakespeare and reveals the influence of a community of playwrights that shaped his work. This compelling book argues that we need to see early modern drama as a communal enterprise, with playwrights borrowing from and adapting one another's work.

From John Lyly's wit to the collaborative genius of John Fletcher, to Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson, Shakespeare's borrowed feathers offers fresh insights into Shakespeare's artistic development and shows us new ways of looking at the masterpieces that have enchanted audiences for centuries.

'This is a long way from the Romantic image of Shakespeare as isolated genius, and it is entirely convincing.' Peter Holland, Times Literary Supplement

'As this new book expertly shows, [Shakespeare] did not write alone. Shakespeare's borrowed feathers is less about the "upstart crow" who upset the gossipy, close-knit world of Elizabethan theatre, and more about those other writers whose influence, rivalry and collaboration shaped the canon we attribute to Shakespeare solo.' Emma Smith, The Telegraph

'Persuasive and precise, this exceptionally well-researched book is an invaluable addition to scholarship that examines how literary collaborations shaped the modern Shakespeare canon.' Kirkus Reviews